Naam: The Indian Challenger to Truecaller's Throne
In the competitive world of caller ID apps, a new player, Naam, is emerging as a formidable challenger to the Swedish giant Truecaller.
Founded in 2021 by telecom industry veteran Arpit Tak, along with his college friend and second-time entrepreneur Ramesh Chaudhary and Abhimanyu Sharma, Naam is a Jaipur-based startup that's leveraging AI to create a spam-free database and offer a privacy-focused caller ID app.
Naam sets itself apart with a privacy-first approach. Unlike Truecaller, which allows users to search for virtually any number with just a name, Naam restricts searches to mobile numbers only.
This approach is resonating with a privacy-conscious user base, wary of sacrificing their privacy for convenience.
At just 5.9 MB, Naam's app is significantly lighter than its competitors. The startup has kept all features, including automatic spam identification, blocking, and instant number identification, free for early adopters.
This strategy is a direct contrast to Truecaller, which monetizes basic features through pop-up ads.
Naam uses AI to flag potentially fraudulent numbers by scraping through its database of over 500 million phone numbers. The app picks up numbers from Google reviews, social media posts, PDFs, and other files available on the internet, building a robust and spam-free database.
Naam supports nine major Indian languages, using natural language processing tools to cater to a diverse user base. The startup recognizes the importance of cultural intricacies in language and is working to make systems that understand these nuances.
Despite some initial challenges, such as caller ID delays, Naam is actively working on fixes and improvements.
The startup is bootstrapped and seeking an investment of $2-3 million to fund growth to 100 million users over the next three years.
With plans to integrate user feedback for spams and scams, fix bugs, and amplify advertisements, Naam is on a fast track to expansion.